Chuck Wright: Guilty Plea, Schemes, and Federal Sentencing

Former Spartanburg County Sheriff Charles “Chuck” Wright entered a guilty plea on October 30, 2025, to three federal charges tied to a public corruption scheme: conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and obtaining controlled substances by misrepresentation.¹ He faces an advisory sentencing range of 33 to 41 months in federal prison and owes $462,866.06 in restitution. Sentencing is set for July 7, 2026, before Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Cain.

The Three Counts He Admitted

The plea covered a single federal information with three counts. The first was a conspiracy, dating back to at least 2017, to steal from the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office Chaplain’s Benevolence Fund, a nonprofit set up to help deputies and their families through bereavement, hardship, and trauma. The second was a wire fraud conspiracy involving fraudulent payroll for Wright’s cousin. The third was a drug offense: obtaining oxycodone and hydrocodone by falsely claiming the pills would be destroyed.¹

The FBI’s Columbia Field Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigated jointly, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Lothrop Morris prosecuting. As part of the resolution, Wright signed a “Relinquishment of Law Enforcement Certifications Agreement” that permanently bars him from carrying a badge or a gun. South Carolina’s 10th Circuit Solicitor Micah Black declined to bring additional state charges in light of the federal pleas.²

What the Schemes Involved

Stealing From the Benevolence Fund

Prosecutors said Wright and the sheriff’s office chaplain, Amos Durham, siphoned money from the officers’ fund for personal use. Wright personally took over $89,000 in cash despite a rule against cash withdrawals, plus roughly $5,000 in checks, and used fund money for personal travel, meals, and payments to a criminal informant and a pill dealer.³ In one instance cited by the government, a deputy whose wife had stage 4 cancer was denied assistance because the fund had been depleted.⁴

U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling said, “Stealing from a fund that’s supposed to benefit law enforcement families in their darkest hours is not something that can be condoned.”²

A No-Show Job for His Cousin

From at least January 2021 through March 2025, Wright allowed his cousin, Lawson B. Watson, to collect a taxpayer-funded salary and benefits for work he did not perform. Watson, hired by Wright in 2005 and assigned to the civil division, falsely certified his own timesheets. The Justice Department valued the fraudulent compensation at approximately $200,000, and the parties later agreed the restitution figure for this count alone is $349,885.22.¹⁵ Prosecutors said coworkers viewed the arrangement as an “open secret” and referred to Watson as a “unicorn” for drawing a paycheck without showing up.⁶

Opioids Through a False Take-Back Claim

Between May and September 2023, Wright obtained 147 pills of oxycodone and hydrocodone from an individual by falsely claiming the pills would be destroyed through the sheriff’s office narcotic “take back” disposal program. He kept them for himself.¹ At sentencing, prosecutors alleged that Wright also bought pills from dealers in the sheriff’s office parking lot while in uniform and pressured employees for their prescriptions, using the implied threat of job consequences.⁴

What He Faces at Sentencing

The advisory federal guideline range is 33 to 41 months. Total restitution is set at $462,866.06, split into $112,980.84 on one count and $349,885.22 on the other. Both sides agreed to a loss amount of $228,240 for guideline calculation purposes, and Wright had already paid $28,240 toward restitution as of June 2026.⁷ The permanent surrender of his law enforcement certification is already in effect.²

The Sentencing Fight

Defense: Addiction and a Request to Go Below the Range

Wright is represented by former U.S. Congressman Trey Gowdy and attorney Gary Harris. In a sentencing memorandum filed June 23, 2026, they asked Judge Cain for a downward variance below the 33-to-41-month range, arguing that his conduct was driven by an opioid addiction rooted in multiple surgeries and untreated post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosed by psychologist Donna Maddox.⁸

The defense noted that Wright entered inpatient treatment before charges were filed, surrendered his firearms, resigned from office, and has been sober for more than 16 months. His lawyers argued prison would disrupt that treatment and that he no longer poses a danger. They pointed to South Carolina officials who pleaded guilty to public-trust crimes and received probation or short sentences, including former Greenville County Sheriff Will Lewis and former Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill, arguing that a guideline sentence would create an unwarranted disparity.⁹

Prosecution: Give Him the Full Guideline Sentence

Federal prosecutors responded the following day, arguing that a sentence within the 33-to-41-month range and full restitution are needed to restore public trust. They said the guidelines already account for acceptance of responsibility, addiction, and lack of prior record, and that Wright’s 20 years as the county’s chief law enforcement officer made the conduct more serious, not less.³

The government rejected the comparisons to other officials and called the financial manipulation a “chess game,” pointing to over $89,000 in cash and $5,000 in checks stolen from the Benevolence Fund, over $4,000 in personal travel and meals, and nearly $350,000 in fraudulent wages authorized for Watson. Prosecutors also alleged that when confronted about suspicious credit card spending, Wright falsely claimed his card had been “hacked” and dismissed employee concerns by saying it was “his name on the building, not theirs.”⁴

What Spartanburg County Says It Lost

The county has argued in a victim impact statement that the actual cost to taxpayers is far higher than the federal restitution number. It sought $1,305,636.87, which includes Watson’s unearned compensation ($349,885), the depleted Benevolence Fund ($28,240), Wright’s own salary from 2022 through 2025 ($744,558.59), and $182,953.28 in election costs to fill the vacancy after his resignation. The county said the salary payments were made in expectation of a public official acting with “cognitive clarity,” not one using public funds to buy controlled substances.¹⁰ The county has also filed a separate civil lawsuit in federal court against Wright, Durham, and Watson to recover part of those losses.¹¹

The Two Co-Defendants

Amos Durham, 61, the former chaplain and director of the Benevolence Fund, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds. He faces up to five years and owes $95,422.39 in restitution. No sentencing date has been publicly set.¹¹²

Lawson B. Watson, 63, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a 20-year statutory maximum. His advisory guideline range is 10 to 16 months, and he is seeking a lighter sentence citing his age, health, and lack of criminal history. His sentencing is scheduled for July 9, 2026.⁶

A Separate State Ethics Case

Wright’s federal plea does not resolve everything. He also faces 65 state ethics charges before the South Carolina State Ethics Commission: 63 counts tied to misuse of a county-funded credit card and two counts of nepotism involving the hiring of his son, Andy Wright, as a deputy.¹³ The commission found probable cause that he violated state ethics laws.¹⁴

The credit card allegations involve $17,140.57 in personal spending over his final four years in office, on items ranging from cellphone games and cigarettes to ammunition, restaurant meals, car washes, and streaming subscriptions. The hearing was continued from February 19, 2026 to June 18, 2026. The charges are civil, with a maximum fine of $2,000 per count, or up to $130,000 total. Wright’s attorney has said he expected a consent order with the commission.¹⁵

1
U.S. Department of Justice. Former Spartanburg County Sheriff, 2 Employees Plead Guilty to Public Corruption Scheme
2
Spectrum News. Former Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright Pleads Guilty
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WYFF4. Former Sheriff Chuck Wright Drug Addiction Sentencing
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FOX Carolina. US Attorney Files Scathing Motion After Chuck Wright Defense Requests Leniency
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GoUpstate. Former Sheriff Chuck Wright Owes $462K, Could Face 41 Months in Prison
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FITSNews. Feds Say Wright’s Conduct Merits Prison, Not Leniency
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GoUpstate. Chuck Wright Full Sentence Prosecutors
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GoUpstate. Spartanburg Sheriff Chuck Wright Treatment Reduced Sentence
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FOX Carolina. Former Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright Asks Judge for Lighter Sentence
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FOX Carolina. Victim Impact Statement: Spartanburg Co. Says Chuck Wright Case Cost Taxpayers $1.31M
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GoUpstate. Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright Sued Over Taxpayer Money
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WYFF4. Possible Prison Time for Former Sheriff Chuck Wright
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WYFF4. SC Spartanburg Sheriff Misuse County Funds
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Post and Courier. SC Ethics Chuck Wright Investigation Probable Cause
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FITSNews. Ex-Sheriff Chuck Wright Granted Continuance in State Ethics Case